Sentinel 3: Homeworld The Tower Defense Game that all TD games will now be measured by

Sentinel 3 Homeworld App Store

Sentinel 3 Homeworld App Store

Sentinel 3: Homeworld [rating: 5/5]

While I’ve always enjoyed the occasional tower defense game none has ever gripped to the point of coming back to it again and again, that is until now! I don’t want to give away my conclusions on this game but writing this review is taking me away from playing it and therefore I’m resenting having to write it a little! Well OK maybe I’m over egging things slightly, writing this review is allowing me to put into words how great I think this game is.

In Sentinel 3: Homeworld the basics for a tower defense game are all there, your task is to defend yourself against an alien onslaught of massive proportions with a range of weapons that you can purchase, upgrade and unleash on wave after wave on alien aggressors. While graphics don’t usually make or break such games when they look as detailed and beautiful as they do in Sentinel 3 they certainly add to the game.

This is especially true on the retina display of the iPhone 4 where the graphics sparkle on the screen from the beautiful environments to the sharp animations on the weapons and enemies. All of this can be seen both while zoomed in and zoomed out allowing you to see even more of detail. The menu’s both in game and pre game are sharp to allowing easy navigation to all areas of the game.

Sentinel 3 Homeworld iPhone

There are three game modes to choose from which are Campaign, Endless and Classic. Campaign mode is where you’ll want to start your adventure as not only does it start things slowly for you but also because it’s how you unlock additional levels and your commanders power. There is a storyline to the campaign mode and while it’s interesting it doesn’t get in the way of the game, in fact you could not read the level details and still thoroughly enjoy the game.

As you would expect you start the game with just a few weapons available to you and limited dollars but as you start to wipe out the waves of enemies you’ll soon be able to upgrade your weapons and buy new ones. There are 10 weapons to be unlocked in total from the simple laser and bomb to the more explosive missile and flame throwers and that’s even before you bring in the ‘Sentinel Weapons’ which add a whole new level of offence to your armoury.

The path of the alien waves vary from level to level, sometimes they will appear from a single location while multiple entry points will be used on other maps. Once you’ve reviewed where the onslaught is coming from you’ll be able to start placing you artillery and other weapons. Placement is as simple as dragging and dropping the required weapon onto the map with a green marker showing if you can place it and red if you can’t.

All of this can be done while the aliens begin the attack or you can pause the game allowing you more time to consider you options. I found myself using both at times depending on the ferocity of the attack I was under at he time. There are a great variety of aliens too although you will have to wait a while before you see them all.

They all look appropriately aggressive as they march towards you defences and each one will potentially require a different weapon to destroy it. This ensures that maximum thinking power is required especially as you progress to the later levels. In addition to your air and ground attack your commander can move around the playing area to defend your structures which when all defeated will result in game over.

Sentinel 3 Homeworld

Between each level you get the opportunity to not only increase the weapons you have in game but also to increase the powers of your commander with the dollars and experience that you’ve earned completing the level. There are 20 levels to play through which will then be available in Endless Mode which is where you can play to compete online with your best scores.

The third mode is Classic Mode which uses a set scenario to challenge you to defend a set number of waves, complete each level to unlock the next of 6 levels. Your scores on Classic Mode will also be uploaded to the online leader boards that are provided by integration with both Open Feint and Apple’s very own Game Center which also provides 47 achievements to complete.

The overall pace and difficulty of the game is just right and I’d recommend Sentinel 3 to both newcomers to the experienced tower defense players. At $3.99 it’s not the cheapest TD game but it’s certainly the best value for money as it provides quality, quantity and options all in one package.

Pros

  • Looks great
  • Plays great
  • No other TD games need apply

Cons

  • Not enough hours in the day to play!

$3.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Nov 26, 2010
Version: 1.0.0
1.0.0 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
92.9 MB
Language: English
Seller: Origin8 Technologies Limited
© Origin8 Technologies Ltd.
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

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